Just in case- Alternatives to SageTV

[sdsean]

Alright I'm finally gonna chime in. . .

Just like others said earlier. . .I'm still not quite sure it's time to panic yet. . .

Case in point. . .I have had my setup since 2006. . hooked up with 3 HD-PVRs and 1 HD-HR. Other than the occasional reboot, and having to re-jigger guide data when Sunday Ticket comes in the fall. . .honestly very very few problems.

On top of that. . with a lifetime Playon sub. . . Hulu and HBO.go all day long over the web and too extenders == sooo happy.

The XMLTV plugin, and maybe a few more bucks a year. . and EPG data is solved (which of course there is no need for yet). . and I see no reason other than a total hardware failure that your current SageTV setup can't run for another 5 or even more years. . .

Agree that it seems folks are moving to the cloud. . however. . .
The Sage guys were always staunch fighters for customization, and against DRM. Even after selling to google, I don't think (hope) that would just disappear. . .

What most of us have. . is really our own cloud. . .and I'm very surprised that Apple hasn't done a better job of giving customers that. . .but I think that's what they (Google) wants to do. . .

The kicker is going to be fighting the content companies / and at the same time the ISPs. The ISPs right now are the bottle neck b/c they also sell TV services and of course would start loosing that. . .

So for Google to move anything. . .they really have to build their own network. . .and give it away. . . (at least to consumers).

And google (other than maybe MS or IBM) is about the only player in the game that has the juevos and the cash to pull that off. . .

[samgreco]

Originally Posted by sdsean

So for Google to move anything. . .they really have to build their own network. . .and give it away. . . (at least to consumers).

And google (other than maybe MS or IBM) is about the only player in the game that has the juevos and the cash to pull that off. . .

I think this is probably on the right track. And I think that is partly (largely?) what the Kansas City experiment is all about.

[tmiranda]

I still can't find anything better than what I have. Case in point, I'm on vacation in a place with no TV and limited internet access yet I just finished watching this weekend's Formula1 race via an old laptop running placeshifter. Find me something else that would make that possible.

[darcilicious]

Slingbox (for live) or AirVideo (for recorded) ?

[ybrew]

I use plex for recorded to my iPhone or iPad.
But still prefer placeshifter for live. Although I never watch live.

[KarylFStein]

I thought Placeshifter would be nice when traveling, but I have yet to find a hotel's "high-speed" Internet access able to keep up. (Sometimes it's watchable if on the laptop screen and I'm a good distance away, but that isn't especially enjoyable.) I thought it was Placeshifter at first or too much transcoding for my server, but things like Hulu are the same. Maybe it's just the Hilton chain of hotels as that's where work usually puts me up. Do other people use Placeshifter fine at hotels? My home Internet connection has a pretty consistant 3 - 4M upload speed.

[wayner]

It isn't great but it does work, somewhat. I have watched Toronto hockey games, live from Beijing - it was a little herky jerky but somewhat watchable and I didn't expect much.

[emveepee]

Originally Posted by wayner

it was a little herky jerky but somewhat watchable and I didn't expect much.

Wouldn't that pretty much describe a Leafs fan's typical watching experience?

Martin, a Sen's fan

[jchiso]

Originally Posted by KarylFStein

... I have yet to find a hotel's "high-speed" Internet access able to keep up...

The problem with hotel internet is that it's usually just 10 mbps wired, and b or g variants of wifi, usually running around 24 mbps ...

[wayner]

Originally Posted by emveepee

Wouldn't that pretty much describe a Leafs fan's typical watching experience?

Sadly that is the truth!

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by emveepee

Wouldn't that pretty much describe a Leafs fan's typical watching experience?

Martin, a Sen's fan

lol....well at least Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment has given locals 'Toronto FC', a team so bad the Leafs almost seem average by comparison...

[ChePazzo]

Originally Posted by KarylFStein

I thought Placeshifter would be nice when traveling, but . . . .

Many moons ago, I used placeshifter to watch movies on my laptop in a hotel over dialup! My guess is that it's not the speed that's the problem in the hotel.

[Bizarroterl]

Originally Posted by jchiso

The problem with hotel internet is that it's usually just 10 mbps wired, and b or g variants of wifi, usually running around 24 mbps ...

That's not it. Your room may even have 100Mb wired, or even 1Gb wired. That doesn't mean a thing. What determines the speed you get is based on the overall bandwidth the hotel has. Suppose they have a DS3 (45Mb) and are a typical hotel with 100 rooms. You're trying to play a show at the same time 70 other guests are on trying to download, email, etc. You'd be lucky to get 3Mb.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Bizarroterl

That's not it. Your room may even have 100Mb wired, or even 1Gb wired. That doesn't mean a thing. What determines the speed you get is based on the overall bandwidth the hotel has. Suppose they have a DS3 (45Mb) and are a typical hotel with 100 rooms. You're trying to play a show at the same time 70 other guests are on trying to download, email, etc. You'd be lucky to get 3Mb.

and I hope you're not trying to stream HD recordings...

[darcilicious]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

and I hope you're not trying to stream HD recordings...

The transcoded bit rate is what would count...

[jchiso]

Originally Posted by Bizarroterl

That's not it. Your room may even have 100Mb wired, or even 1Gb wired. That doesn't mean a thing. What determines the speed you get is based on the overall bandwidth the hotel has. Suppose they have a DS3 (45Mb) and are a typical hotel with 100 rooms. You're trying to play a show at the same time 70 other guests are on trying to download, email, etc. You'd be lucky to get 3Mb.

My point is that you are sharing a slow (and antiquated) wired connection. If only two other guests were using the connection your performance would still lag ...

[Bizarroterl]

DS3 antiquated?

[jchiso]

Originally Posted by Bizarroterl

DS3 antiquated?

10BASE-T ethernet ...

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by jchiso

10BASE-T ethernet ...

Considering I can get 100Mbps down to my home, yes, T3/DS3 is antiquated... :-)

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Bizarroterl

DS3 antiquated?

Yes as it is about half the speed of my connection which is 75Mbps.